PS 3507 
.194 D6 
1904 
Copy 1 



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<Eop2rtgf)te& 1903 fcg Ftncent Bixtrn 




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http://www.archive.org/details/downonthfarmOOdixo 



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<£opgrtgf)tc& 1903 bg Fhtcent Bixan 




liKWISTOBT 

THE HASWELL PRESS 

32 ASH STREET 



ful S i 5 00N6RE8SJ 
I Two 0©fM«s deceived I 

JUN 10 1904 I 
@opw?ght Entry 

LASS ^ XXa. Ho. 

'copy £ 






DOWN ON TH' FARM 




Down on th 1 Farm 

OW well I remember it ! Down on th' farm 
Where us youngsters was born and brought up; 
With mother thar guardin' from troubles an' harm 
Thet was waitin' fer youngsters like us. 

How well I remember it! True as th' face 
Thet's been watchin' us thar from above; 
My memory goes back to thet old country place 
Thet us youngsters had all learned to love. 

I pictur' th' house an' th' shed an' th' barn, 
An' th' troubles an' sorrows an' joys ; 
An' th' trees an' th' bushes thet scattered th' farm 
An' th' capers cut up by us boys. 



DOWN ON TW FARM 



I pictur' th' lay of th' land from th' road 

To th' back of Si Whitlum's old fence ; 

An' th' path thet th' cattle made down through th' grove, 

Jest as far as th' pastur' land went. 



An' yes I can see thet old maple thet grow'd 
Near th' place whar th' well ust to be ; 
An' hear th' north-wind as it whistled an' blow'd 
Through th' limbs of thet old battered tree. 



An' see th' old sweep as worked it every day, 
When th' opposite ends riz an' fell ; 
An' hear th' ker-plash of thet old wooden pail, 
As I let it down into the well. 



DOWN ON TH' FARM 



I pictur' th' warm winter days on th' farm, 

When I played in th' low open shed ; 

An' dreamed, while th' fast meltin' snow on th' barn 

Trickled down on th' shingles o'er head. 

An' then I hear Rover ; his bark an' his whine ; 
An' th' click of th' hens eatin' grain ; 
An' th' low of th' cows in th' tie-up sometimes, 
When they'se longin' fer pastur' again. 

I pictur' th' figur's of all of us boys, 
When th' gleams of th' day-time had fled, 
An* left us all sleepin', true picturs of joy, 
Side by side in th' old, trundle bed. 



SPRINGTIME 



Springtime 



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'HEN on th' peaks of yonder hill th' 
snow would dissapear, 

We ust to think th* summertime was gettin' 
pretty near; 



An' farmers an' their hosses an' th' cattle in 
th' barn, 

Would kinder hev* a feelin' thet th* winter days 
was done. 



Th* mornin* sun a-peakin* round th' edges of 
th' trees, 

Was 'nough to set ye thinkin' if ye loves th' 
things yer sees* 



SPRINGTIME 



An' singin' birds, an' squirrels runnin' long 
the old stone wall, 

A-lookin' fer th' apples thet was left thar in 
th' fall. 

Th' golden breasted robin come a-huntin' jest 
his best. 

To find a good old maple thet was fittin' fer 
his nest. 

Th' lazy wood-chuck come a-slily creepin' out 
his hole, 

Where all th' winter days he'd been a-hidin' from 
th' cold. 

Then 'cross th' narrer pastur' lane an' down 
field h'd run, 

To kinder look around an' see 'f we'd gut th' 
plantin' done. 



SPRINGTIME 



Th' leavin' out of all th' trees thet grew around 
th' farm, 

An' grasses gittin' little greener up a-near 
th' barn, 

An' plowin' an' a-sowin' was th' things thet 
ust to come, 

In all th' springtimes when us youngsters lived 
thar on th' farm. 




When Father Sold Th } Con 



When Father Sold th' Cow 

jttjflU HEN father sold th' speckled eow 

An' she had gone fer good ; 
It seemed jes' so we missed her more'n 
I ever thought we could. 
We'd allers had her from th' first, 
An' got to like her so, 
It seemed to me 'twas ten times worse 
To hav' to let her go. 
It seemed jes' so some one of us 
When she w r a'n't with th' herd, 
Had wandered from th' dear old place 
Without th' partin' word 



When Father Sold Th" Cozv 



I recollect jes' how we felt 

Thet night, when all us four 

Stood leanin' back in silence, thar 

Against th' tie-up door. 

An' when they took down th 5 drive, 

Th' 'spression on her face, 

Made little Jim jest blink his eyes 

To keep th* tears in place. 

They started off t'words Baker's Corner 

When they left th> farm; 

An* turned in on thet old cross road 

By Silas Joneses barn. 



When Father Sold T/r Cow 



Then Bill an' me an' Lew walked off 

An' watched them, till I vow 

You couldn't tell to save yer lives, 

Which critter was th' cow. 

We slowly sauntered t'words th/ barn 

When they was out o' sight, 

An* hunted 'ronud for Jimmie, in 

Th' darkness of th 1 night ; 

We found him 'round th' huskin' shed 

Where father kept th' corn, 

A-gazin' up th* road-way, where 

Th' speckled cow had gone. 



Gettin' in th y Pun kins 

Gettio' in th* Punkins 

ss \T TELL yer what'' says Uncle Silas 

once to all us boys. 

44 Thar ain't no use to sit an' whine an' make 
a lot o' noise 

" When folks come up an* ask ye jest to lend 
a helpin' hand ; 

44 Ye want to keep a smilin' face an' do th' 
best ye can. 

"When we was young, an' all us boys was 
livin' down in Maine, 

" Thar things we ust to hate to do, like you 
boys, jes' th' same ; 

44 But then thars things we liked to do, an' one 
a heap o' sights, 

44 'Twas gittin' in th' punkins, jest afore th' 
frosty nights.' 7 



Get tin" in th" Pu7iki?is 



" I recollect th' time we kinder spected early 

frosts, 

" An work come rushin' in on us to beat th' 
very worst, 

"Th' nights they gut so cold, I thought th' 
whole creation'd freeze, 

%i An' father, he gut nervous— couldn't seem to 
take no ease ; 

"He'd stayt' th' supper table with his appetite 
most gone, 

" An' talk about th' punkins on th' lower field 
of corn ; 

"An' then he'd tell an' dream again when we 
had lit th' lights, 

4 * 'Bout gittin' in th' punkins, jest afore th' 
frosty night." 



Oettin' in th y Punkins 



" At last thar come th' coldest night, like most 
th' farmers dread ; 

"An jest as luck would hev' it, found us 
youngsters all in bed ; 

" But father come an' woke us up, an' sed to 
hurry dow r n 

" An' help git th' punkins, fore th' worst of it 
gut round ; 

"I tell ye we jest hustled, an' we didn't lose 
no time, 

" Fer when th' team druv' up thar wasn't one 
of us behind ; 

" We rode across th' medder thar a-bouncin' 
left an' right, 

M While goin' for fer th' punkins jest afore th' 
frosty nights." 



Gcttiir in th' Punkins 



" We jest kept things a-mov' in thar' among 
th' stalks o' corn ; 

" A-jumpin' fer th' punkins till th' last of them 
was gone ; 

''An' pilin' up th' cart till it begun to creak 
an' groan, 

" Then wakin' up th' hoss we'd start th' wagin- 
load fer home ; 

"Of course us fellers liked it, but I tell ye 
'twant no treat, 

" With coats of ice-cold frosty dew a-freezin' 
our bare feet ; 

" It feeled as so sometimes, our legs was full 
o' skeeter bites, 

"When gittin' in th' punkins jest afore th' 
frosty nights." 



Gettirt in M Punkins 



"One time I says t'other boys, when we druv' 
in th' barn, : 

" L,et's make some Jack-o-Lanterns now an' 
run around the farm ; 

"But father kinder smiled, an' sed to me an' 
Bill an' Lew, 

" * Git to bed you boys, or I'll make lanterns 
out o' you ! ' 

" We didn't do whininin' then, but kept a 
smilin' face, 

" An' climbed th' creakin' attic stairs, to find 
our resten place ; 

"An' kinder talked in whispered tones, as we 
clim up th' flights, 

"Bout gittin' in th' "punkins jest afore th' 
frosty nights." 



JIM 



J 



im 




V you fergut th' old place Jim ? 

It's years since you was back ; 
I sometimes git to thinkin', Jim, 
You must hev' lost th' track, 

Hev' you fergut th' tender hearts 
Thet allers loved you so ? 
If you've fergut th' old folks, Jim, 
Don't ever let 'em know. 

I'd like to hev' you see th' place. 
An' walk around again ; 
Th' things are little worn w T ith age 
But nuthin' else has changed. 



JIM 



Th' same old pastur' lane is thar, 

Th' same old house an' barn ; 

Th' same stone wall you built, still marks 

Th' limit of the farm. 



Hev' you fergut th' brook thet flow'd 
Across th' medder land? 
An' whar th' cat-tails allers grow'd 
Along its muddy banks ? 

An' whar th' worter gurgled on 
Th' ledges jest below? 
An' stop to think it over, Jim, 
In our old swimmin' hole? 



JIM 



Hev' you fergut thet old stone bridge, 
Th' swishin' an' th' roar? 
Th' croakin' of th' frogs, beside 
Th' whirlpools 'long th' shore? 



Oh Jim ! If you could be here now 
An' find th' things th' same ; 
You wouldn't hev' no wish but jes' 
To be a boy again. 



You'd sigh fer days thet's fur away 
Fer lands you ust to roam ; 
You'd find th' birds sweetest, Jim, 
In trees thet's nearer home. 



us boys 



Us Boys 



AL AY BILL ! Remember th' days when all of us boys 

Was livin' at home on th' farm ; 
When life was so merry we lived on its joys, 
An' everything worked like a charm? 

Remember th' fun we most allers had 
When visitin' Marm ust to go; 
An* leave us at home to keep th' old place 
An' everything, lookin' jest so? 

How often I've thought of them old chamber stairs, 

Thet creaked in th' dead of th' night; 

As you an' I creeped to th' pantry-way there 

So careful, to git jes' a bite. 



iinnriiiii 



us boys 



Did ever you think, who could it hev' been? 
Thet took out thet old cellar screen ; 
Then slid down th' post of th' old tater bin 
An' et some of mother's best cream? 



An sweet were those days, with all of their joys, 
An' nights, when naught would alarm 
To trouble th' conscience of all of us boys, 
When livin' at home on th' farm. 




LONG IN" FER TW FARM 



Longin' fer th' Farm 



ALOMETIMES when I git dreamin' of th' old place 
C^w down in Maine, 

An' think I see th' cows a-comin' up th' pastur lane, 

An' think I smell th' new-mown hay what's stacked up in 
th' barn, 

Th' sweetness of it's natur' gits me longin' fer th' farm. 



I'd like to see that old place as I seed it years ago, 
An' see th' patches whar th' corn an' punkins aller grow'd. 
An' stroll across th' medder to th' corner by the lane, 
An' listen, like I ust to, when th' breezes stirred th' grain. 



■■•.J -i ujri— iin 



LONG IN" FER TH' FARM 



I'd like to see th' huskin' shed, whar father kepi th' corn, 
An' see th' shadders gather when th' night is comin' on, 
An' hear th' doors asqueakin' an' acreakin' left an' right, 
When shuttin' up an' gittin' things all ready fer th' night. 

Somehow th' days grow brighter when I'm gittin' nearer 
Maine, 

An' hear th' tinklin' bells a-comin' up th' pastur lane, 

Th' piotur' with its scenery sorter takes me with its charm, 

An' gits me kinder dreamin' an' a-longin' fer th' farm. 




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